Two Years Since I Have Called You Friend
by Shadow Mage Evelyn
Summary: It's Edward's birthday, and he forgot to tell his best friend! Includes an OC. Please review!


Just so you know, Kennedy Harris is an OC Ishbalan character that I created in the course of the random short stories in my head. He's about twenty years old when Ed is 18 (as he often is in the stories because I basically pretend that the canon isn't real) and becomes the best friend/older brother figure to Edward…and kind of an annoyance to the poor guy. Many of you may or may not like him, and this story will only really gloss over the kind of character that he is, but I have a very deep affection for Kennedy, so please…be kind to him. He's really a great character, and I hope to write more stories with him and about him so that you can come to understand, and maybe even grow to love him as much as I do.

No, I have not abandoned _Indiana Elric?_ I just thought I'd write this to tide you over until the next chapter! Where I live, there's a lot of snow on the ground, so I felt thusly inspired to write this. (13 February 2007) Enjoy and please leave a review!!

**Two Years Since I Have Called You Friend**

By: Shadow Mage Evelyn

"It's Ed's birthday????" squawked Kennedy Harris, staring incredulously at Alphonse Elric. Alphonse nodded.

"Yeah, but Brother doesn't really want anyone to make a big deal out of it," the thirteen year old said. The older Ishbalan snorted, rolling his crimson red eyes.

"No way!! There's no way I can't make a big deal out of it!! He's my best friend, you know!!!"

"Kennedy, please!"

"I'm sorry, Alphonse, but he's only going to turn 17 once!!"

Before the younger Elric could further protest, Kennedy rushed out of the room into the front hall, grabbing his boots and coat and hurriedly putting them on.

"Where did you say he is again?" he demanded as he bundled up.

"He's at the library, but I don't think—!"

"Thanks, Al!! I'll be back later!!"

The Ishbalan darted out into the snow before the thirteen year old could continue his sentence. Alphonse blinked for a moment before breaking into a stupefied smile and sighing. Kennedy was really a good friend if he was willing to brave Edward's almighty wrath all the time. The younger Elric turned and closed the door, moving back to his newspaper.

As he made his way to the library, several thoughts were circulating through Kennedy's head, first and foremost among them being his annoyance at the fact that Edward had not shared that it was his birthday with him.

"It's not fair," he muttered to himself, ducking his head to ward off the chill. How long had they known each other? Two years now? Kennedy remembered the day they had met like it was yesterday. He'd been a very, thoroughly lost seventeen year old jostling in the bustle of the train station at East City, and had literally tripped over the poor fifteen year old. They both had, of course, apologized, and Edward had asked him where he was headed.

"Eastern Command," he had revealed, explaining that he was on a diplomatic mission as ordered by the Elder of his tribe.

"Hey!! That's where we're headed!" Edward had replied, gesturing to the huge suit of armor behind him.

"Really?"

"Yup! Come on, we'll take you there!"

And that had been that. The similarities in Kennedy's and Edward's personalities had clicked just right and they had forged a fast and lasting friendship.

Kennedy then reflected on the hectic time leading up to Al's return. He'd never seen Edward so hysterical when the young alchemist had found out that Al was missing. Try as he might, Kennedy could do nothing but watch Edward slowly lose it, until he finally disappeared as well, leaving no word behind and causing Kennedy to panic. He'd only known the Elrics for a little less than a year at that point, but he'd already started to consider them his kid brothers. He'd always wanted kid brothers, but his parents had both died shortly after his birth (his mother had died while in labor with him and his father had died in the war with Amestris), and so he'd been raised alone by his grandfather, the Elder of the tribe. It was, of course, naturally expected that Kennedy would take over as leader and Elder upon his grandfather's death, but he'd revealed to Edward that he wasn't sure that he was ready. He'd also confessed that deep down…he didn't really want to. What Kennedy really wanted to do was study the Amestrian alchemy, an art utterly forbidden by the edicts of his people. He had feared mockery at his private hopes, but Edward had encouraged him to do what he'd thought was right and to follow his heart. A few short days after that, Edward had revealed the truth about himself and Alphonse, pouring his heart out to Kennedy like he'd never done before. He, too, feared Kennedy's reaction and thought that the Ishbalan would be disgusted or ashamed of him, but Kennedy had done neither of those things. He understood the motivation behind their actions, and had even considered human transmutation himself, if only to bring his parents back to his side, which was partially the reason for his curiosity for alchemy. But, seeing the result in Edward and Alphonse and learning what they were going through at that time…he realized that he simply would not and could not do such a thing. He never voiced these thoughts to Edward, knowing without a doubt what his reaction would be, but the conversation did have another result that they both understood. Their friendship had only grown stronger and they both knew that from that point on, no matter what, they would be there for each other, supporting one another and believing in each other when no one else would.

And then Edward had up and disappeared without telling Kennedy where he was going or whether he'd be back. When Kennedy and the others from Eastern Command had finally caught up to him, they had been shocked to not only find him alive, but to find that somehow, in some miraculous way, he'd brought Alphonse back from the Gate. Of course, it had only been Alphonse's ten year old version, but that had been okay with Alphonse, because he had understood that one simply couldn't transmute matter that didn't exist across the Gate, and that included age. He was just happy to be back in the flesh and still at his brother's side. Kennedy had actually been the one to find the two first, stumbling upon the scene of the two sobbing boys who were clinging to one another as if afraid to let go in case it were a temporary status. Edward looked as if he were terrified that his brother would be taken from him once again, and so had held him so tightly and had just cried and cried. Kennedy had been very confused, not understanding that the young boy in his best friend's arms was Alphonse, but when Edward had choked out the words, Kennedy had done the only thing he could think of to do. He'd dropped straight to his knees right there and had sent up a prayer of joy and praise to Ishbala, knowing that his best friend's wishes had come true at last. He also begged his God to let him learn and understand this art which, while deadly and costly at times, could also produce such astounding miracles. He knew in his heart at that moment that he could never ever be satisfied as the leader of his tribe, and that his chosen path was to learn this alchemy in order to somehow better this world with his own two hands. (Shortly after that, though, he'd begun to cry as well and had hugged the brothers tightly in a death grip, ordering them to never _ever_ pull a stunt like that _ever again_!)

He'd been the first to notice the transformation in Edward that followed in the next few months after Al's return. The young alchemist had grown less intense and more prone to smiles. He was suddenly carefree and easy going—perhaps not as much as Kennedy would like him to be, but they were working on that—and Kennedy remembered the day that he'd gone with the brothers to Resembool to meet Winry and Pinako Rockbell. Winry had literally hit her knees and wept when she caught sight of Alphonse in the flesh walking up to her door.

"After all these years, you finally got what you wanted," Winry had said, throwing her arms tight around both of them and squeezing the life out of them. They had all watched in shock as Edward suddenly began to cry, and when asked about the source, all he could get out was, "I have never been so happy before in my entire life."

Unfortunately (though Edward didn't think so), Edward still required the use of automail limbs, but he took it all in stride, claiming that it was okay, he had his brother back and that was all that mattered to him. Alphonse had offered to find another Philosopher's Stone, but that idea had been shot down before he'd even managed to completely give it voice.

"I don't want to go through any of _that_ ever again," Edward had declared with such finality in his tone that it left little room for disagreement. "I can deal with these limbs. In fact…I think I'd find it weird _not_ having them!"

When his brother had further protested, Edward had finally laid it to rest with, "If you take my arm and leg away from me, what will I use as a weapon??" which had promptly gotten him a wrench in the head, courtesy of Winry.

Yes, much had changed in the past two years. Edward was now hard at work on his newest project: rebuilding Ishbal. He'd become a voice for the Ishbalans—with Kennedy's help—and was the forerunner to several of the peace agreements that had been conceived. Many had been surprised at the eloquence and passion that had come from the mouth of the infamously temperamental 15 year old, but none of that had stopped Edward. He was making every effort he could to bring his country and Kennedy's country together in peaceful relations—efforts that were only renewed tenfold at the recent discovery of Alphonse's Ishbalan love interest, the young girl Shiiri. Kennedy knew, if no one else did, that Edward would do whatever he could to make it possible for his brother and Shiiri to live together in peace without fear of rejection or ridicule by either society.

Kennedy looked up in surprise when he realized that he'd almost walked straight past the library, so caught up was he in his own thoughts. A wicked grin broke across his face and he raced up the steps, breaking in through the doors and skidding to a stop in front of the librarians' desk.

"Well, hello Mr. Harris," said the middle aged woman behind the desk. He grinned.

"Hello, Mrs. Benton. How are you?"

"I am doing very well. Is there something I can help you with?"

"I'm looking for Edward Elric. Have you seen him?"

Mrs. Benton smiled, knowing well the tight bond between the two young men. She pointed to a row of shelves to the left.

"He's at the table behind those shelves."

"Thanks, Mrs. Benton!" he chirped, darting that way with all speed. He stopped right before the shelves, peering around cautiously. True to Mrs. Benton's words, Edward sat at the table, his trademark red coat and a red scarf draped across the chair on his right, stacks of books surrounding him on all sides. He had on a white turtleneck sweater and black pants, the bottoms of which were tucked into black snow boots. His golden blonde hair was pulled up into a ponytail—his new favored hairstyle since he thought it made him look older. His attention was focused on the book before him, and Kennedy could tell from the way he sat, hardly moving only to flip to the next page, that he was completely absorbed in his reading. Kennedy grinned wickedly and moved towards his friend.

Edward didn't totally comprehend at first what was happening to him when he was suddenly lifted out of his seat, an arm tight against his back and another under his knees. He flailed uselessly for a moment until he heard the familiar chuckle and looked up into the face of his best friend.

"Kennedy?? What are you doing??" he demanded, but the Ishbalan didn't respond, making a fast dash for the front doors of the library. Edward struggled against the strong grip, to no avail.

"Put me down!!!" he protested repeatedly, beating on Kennedy's chest with his left fist (he didn't want to hurt him, as he would if he used his right, and plus, his right hand was trapped between him and the Ishbalan) and kicking wildly with his feet, twisting and squirming however he could to get free. He knew that Kennedy had something devious in mind that probably spelled trouble for him, but his surprise was complete when he found himself unceremoniously dropped right into a large snow drift. He squealed loudly as the cold hit him, snow going up the back of his shirt. He fought furiously to get out of the snow, and when he did, he glared at Kennedy.

"What the hell was _that_ for???" he demanded. Kennedy put his hands on his hips and stared right back.

"_That_ was for not telling me, _your best friend_, that it was your birthday today, you jerk!!"

Edward sputtered for a few moments over that, and tried to deflect his embarrassment by pretending to be busy wiping as much of the snow off himself as he could. He tried, vainly, to ignore the uncomfortable dripping of the running water on his back as the snow under his sweater started to melt and he started to shiver.

"Well, you didn't have to drop me in a flippin' snowdrift!!" he shot back, wrapping his arms around himself in effort to conserve his remaining body heat. Kennedy just stuck his tongue out, and received a face full of snow as a result. He stared in surprise for a moment, eyeing Edward's mischievous grin before breaking into another grin of his own. He dove at Edward, who launched another snowball and took off running, leading the way around the outside of the library. Surrounding bystanders watched the two friends at play, some eyeing the Ishbalan in suspicion while others smiled. After a few minutes, Kennedy finally caught up to Edward, grabbing him around the waist and lifting him straight off the ground. Edward squirmed and slapped at Kennedy's shoulder, demanding freedom and all-in-all being generally distraught. Kennedy ignored the protests and spun in a circle before turning and facing yet another snowdrift. Edward shouted pleas for mercy.

"Happy Birthday!!" Kennedy answered, throwing his lightweight friend into the pile. The only response he received was another high pitched scream followed by robust cursing as more snow made its way into his best friend's pants, two years of friendship the only thing keeping him safe from the blonde's wrath.

**END**

Okay, I don't honestly know when Ed's actual birthday is, but I think it's in February. Most of my sources, while lacking an exact date, usually agree upon that point. But, what did you think? I hope you all liked Kennedy and I hope that you all didn't mind that I kind of altered the anime canon (since I don't know what the manga canon is going to end with!!). Stay tuned for more appearances for Kennedy and more from _Indiana Elric_?

Please leave me a review!!


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